There are many disasters that occur because of nature itself, from tsunamis and earthquakes to long droughts and floods. However, in numerous cases over the last centuries, the guilty of producing serious disasters in nature has been the human being and many of them caused irremediable damage to the planet. From fires and explosions to polluting spills they have been caused by the hand of man.
In Ecology Verde we want to review these 7 natural disasters caused by manbecause we consider that it is important to remember them, learn from it and try to never repeat them.
Petroleum poured in the oceans: Prestige and Exxon Valdez
Unfortunately, there have been many oil spills to seas and oceans Because of oil tankers who transport it, some coming to pour its entire content in the waters, that is, tons of this highly polluting product. Of course, they have been accidents but with a cost for the irreparable planet.
Some of the best known were The prestige disaster In Galicia, Spain, on November 13, 2002. 77,000 tons of fuel were poured when the ship was pierced and ended up sinking. Without a doubt, this was one of the greatest natural disasters caused by man in Spain, but also of the entire world. Another well -known was Exxon Valdezwhich ranked in Alaska on March 24, 1989 and poured 37,000 tons.
Apart, there have been many other cases of black tides, such as Amoco Cádiz, which is the image below.
The big plastic islands
One of the greater environmental catastrophes It is still present and continues to increase every day. These are the so -called plastic islands, of which there are thousands in the oceans and seas. However, the most worrying is the so -called plastic soup or island found in the Pacific Ocean. It is estimated that until recently it contained more than 1.4 square kilometers of garbage and more than 100 million tons of it, but every day is larger.
Discover more about what the plastic islands are and how they are formed in this other ecology article.
Nuclear disasters: Castle Bravo and Chénobil
Without a doubt, one of the worst environmental disasters was Castle Bravo. This is the name in the key that gave to the largest nuclear explosion that has been, the one that happened during Operation Castle. It is another clear example of how the hand of man has accelerated the destruction of the planet, since this disaster ended the lives of many and with much of the territory.
The cause was the thermonuclear pump Threw as a test on the Marshall Islands, in Micronesia, in 1954. The well -known fungus cloud, due to the shape of the “smoke” after the explosion, had a power of 15 megatons, much more than they thought it would reach. The result was the immediate destruction of the area and the radiological contamination spread not only in this part, but also affected the closest islands and even the vessels in the area. Thus, the entire territory is devastated and contaminated with radiation, dying people, vegetables and animals, although there were survivors who had serious sequelae all their lives.
Something similar happened in Chernobil, the nuclear disaster produced by a more serious plant that has been so far. The Chernobil reactor explosion In 1986, although he ended instantly with the lives of more than 30 people, he continued to harm the environment and who inhabit the area, being affected countries such as Ukraine, Belarus and part of Russia. Many died over the following years due to this problem, others were born with serious health problems and malformations for it and, in addition, there is still radiation there.
Oil fires in Kuwait
Another of the disasters caused by man in nature, and therefore affect all kinds of life including us, were Petroleum fires in Kuwait that occurred during the first Gulf War. It was the Iraqi military forces who began the fire, because 700 oil wells caught. Not only did the fires produced, but they also made sure that it was even more difficult to control the fire when putting mines around, which made it impossible for firefighters and other aid bodies to do anything about it.
The result was that the fires were active during the following 10 months, which produced a level of air pollution, soil and unimaginable nearby groundwater.
Explosions of the Jilin Petrochemical Factory
In 2005 there was another of the worst catastrophes for the environment caused by man and passed in Jilin, China. In a petrochemical factory there was a Explosions chain That, in addition to ending the lives of several people, they left serious damage to the planet, as they poured into the Songua river huge amounts of nitrobenzene and benzene. They are not only harmful to the environment directly, but in addition to being toxic when breathing they also produce long -term cancer, either by inhaling them continuously as if they are ingested even in small doses, through contaminated water or food grown in contaminated soils.
After a few days after the accident, a benzene stain of about 80 kilometers in the water could be clearly seen. The inhabitants closest to the area, mainly from Harbin, were left without water supply for quite some time.
In the image below are the explosions of this petrochemistry in Jilin.
Bhopal disaster
Bhopal, in India, suffered a disaster at the hands of the human being that charged a high price. Bhopal disasterwhich happened in 1984, occurred when there was a leakage Methyl isocianatea very toxic element in the form of gas. The error was human, they were wrong and there was an investment in maintenance equipment that resulted in this escape.
Between 6,000 and 8,000 people died during the first week after this disaster, but more than 12,000 people died after a short time. It is considered that in total it affected more than half a million people. All kinds of animals and plants died and the whole environment was contaminated by this toxic substance and heavy metals. Even today the consequences are suffered and it is not a safe area to live.
Darvaza’s well is the door to hell
Finally, although they have been and remain many more Natural disasters caused by manwe explain why it is called “the door of hell” to El Pozo de Darvaza.
Darvaza’s well or crater It is in Turkmenistan and is in what was a prospecting of gas that ended up becoming a huge and burning crater. Specifically, it measures 30 meters deep and 69 meters in diameter. Its temperature reaches 400ºC.
Gas prospecting was carried out by Soviet geologists in 1971. Working in the area and camping right there, their work area and the camp sank into an underground cave that contained a large amount of natural gas. The simplest solution they could find at the time, to prevent the problem from going to more and there was a great escape from dangerous gases, was setting fire on fire. They did it believing that in a few days it would be consumed and went out, because they did not believe that the amount was as large as it really is, because the fire already It has been almost half a fourteenth. Of course, damage to the environment are tremendous in many ways.
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